Just watched the titan game replay and was fired up for a 'can we win the comp?' thread. Serious question this year imho. So great to see the mighty eagles on the front foot again in a big way. Probably the dragons will go again once they come out of origin duties and get their **** together, but....
positives:
recent gf experience across the park,
matchwinners: b stewart, hopa, foran, lyon
test, origin-experienced players
proven big match players: watmough, matai, ballin, lyon
mongrel in the pigs plus workhorses
experienced coach in the business end games
risks:
inexperience in the halves
maybe one prop short of a full rotation
we haven't played the big guns except the purple ones, so acid tests not passed yet.
Injuries will be key. can b stewart get on the field regularly? if he can, and most other key players stay healthy, I see us as in with a shot if we get to the big one even against the queens who played a competitive but inexperienced roosters last year. top 4 is a realistic expectation from here. let's hope we get to there in good shape.